


Hearts

by Harukami



Category: DRAMAtical Murder
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-20
Updated: 2014-02-20
Packaged: 2018-01-13 03:56:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1211812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harukami/pseuds/Harukami
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Valentine's Day, one year after their first together, Aoba looks for something other than chocolate to give Mink.</p>
<p>Just belated valentines fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hearts

This year, he hunts for something _different_ to give Mink. While the hot chocolate hadn't seemed to go amiss the previous year, not exactly (while, in fact, it had lead to an overt acknowledgement of his feelings, which was nothing to complain about), Mink's lack of interest in Valentine's Day had been embarrassing, and Aoba is still fairly sure that Mink doesn't really like sweet things. Not that he can blame the guy; he only likes them sparingly himself. Too much sweet food makes him sick.

So. He'd find something else.

Originally he'd thought that people in the area wouldn't celebrate it, given how Mink had seemed to have not heard of the holiday at all, but working in the nearby town the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day definitely cured him of that notion. _Everyone_ knew about Valentine's Day except apparently Mink -- though under the hideous circumstances of the last many years of his life, it was probably excusable. Labs and prisons don't make for great places to celebrate romantic holidays, and with his kind of reasonable monofocus on top of that... well.

It does seem a bit different here at least, he's gathered from his bosses, the signs up in stores, the way people are talking about it. Less gendered, at least, probably because White Day isn't a thing. Everyone just gives their chocolates to anyone on Valentine's Day and calls it done. It's different enough to feel weird, but still just similar enough to feel nostalgic as well.

"Are you doing anything for Valentine's Day today, Seragaki?" his boss asks Aoba while he's restocking some shelves. "If you've got a date, I can let you go a bit early."

He hesitates, sitting on the ladder, then turns around where he's sitting, bracing his hands on the top and leaning over toward him. "Nah, no plans," he says. "I mean, not exactly." The policy he's decided on is to tell nobody, but not make it a huge secret either. Just pass himself off as a private person who doesn't like to talk about relationships. It's not exactly untrue, and Mink had grunted and muttered 'good idea' when he'd mentioned it. 

"Do they have Valentine's Day in Japan?" his boss asks. It's a slow day, which means more casual chatter than he's used to. It's not a bad feeling though; there's a sort of merriment in the air at times like this that reminds him of Haga-san and Heibon.

And it's hard not to brighten at the expression of actual interest in his life. "Oh, and how. It's a huge deal, although it's not exactly the same--" He explains, in brief. "Actually, I was wondering if it was always chocolate that's given out here, or if there are other things."

"All kinds. Any sweets will do, or similar. There's those awful chalky candies, those are popular," his boss sighs. 

"Hmm," Aoba says. "What else?"

The resulting explanation immediately decides him on what he should get. It's not hard to track down a bag of it now that he knows what he's looking for. He buys it, tries not to grin like an idiot and isn't entirely sure he's succeeded, and heads on home.

He ties back his hair, and prepares dinner as usual. He was always a tolerable cook, but having to learn an entirely different palate than he was used to, with a very different range of spice has often made him feel like he's had to start entirely from scratch, not knowing what tastes good with another thing at all. He wants to prepare something fancy tonight but -- well, that can be for another year. Instead, he makes one of the dishes he knows he has down, one that Mink has dropped him the occasional compliment about. 

Mink gets home; Aoba greets him at the door with a kiss. "You're in a good mood," Mink says, actually a little suspicious, when the kiss breaks.

Aoba sticks his tongue out. "Can't I be?"

"Well, if you can, it's good," Mink says, and goes to wash up before dinner.

They eat together, and after, Mink goes to relax, rolling his broad shoulders and sighing as he settles down with a book. He seems strangely alert, however, and Aoba gives up on trying to be stealthy at getting him the candy, just comes over and drops it onto his open book page.

"Here," Aoba says.

"Hm," Mink says. He looks at it, then up at Aoba. "What's today's date?"

"It's Valentine's Day, obviously," Aoba says, and rolls his eyes. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"Happy Valentine's Day," Mink says obligingly, and slides a chocolate bar out from between the cover and the back page of his book, tossing it up at Aoba.

Aoba misses, fumbling it and having to bend down to pick it up after. "Wha??"

"It's not like I forgot what happened last year," Mink says. He opens the package with one hand, reading his book and seeming absorbed in this. "...Cinnamon hearts?"

"They made me think of you."

"Haah," Mink says, noncommittally, and puts one in his mouth before turning the page.

Almost unable to contain his own happiness, Aoba looks down at the chocolate bar in his hand. He unwraps it, bites off a square -- it's not sweet at all, he discovers, and not a taste he'd usually expect with chocolate. It's bitter and curls in his mouth nicely, and has a hint of sharp spice to it; he sees red curls in the chocolate, hot peppers.

"Mink," he mumbles, the chocolate square bobbing between his lips.

Mink pretends not to hear him, still reading his book, fingers dipping back into the bag for another candy, so Aoba grins and lets him be for now. 

Later, though, he's got plans for.


End file.
